iPad OS Microsoft Apps Freeze After Two-Step Authentification

Question

iPad OS Microsoft Apps Freeze After Two-Step Authentification

shayshayshay 0

Hi guys, we are having some issues logging into Microsoft apps on the shared workplace iPads. After logging in through our organizational account and successfully completing the two-step authentication (through DUO mobile), the app just freezes at the 'success. logging you in...' window. This happens across at least 4 devices. These devices are owned by the department yet they claim that they do not configure their devices in any way. Interestingly, if we log in through the webpage version of OneNote, it works perfectly. I can also log in through the app in my own device. We have also tried: turning the device off and on again, deleting and reinstalling the app, and resetting OneNote (deleting login credentials. This doesn't visually change the app at all, as I can still see past logged-in accounts when I first open the app. Not sure if this indicates anything). I have also checked with our IT department that our accounts are recognized by the system of our organization and our status are ok and everything.

The iPads are gen 7, running on iPadOS 18.7.10

Any idea on what could be happening and how we can fix this?? Your help will be EXTREMELY appreciated.

Rahul Jindal 11,721 Reputation points

2026-08-28T06:15:48+00:00

Sounds like the process may be halting or failing at the validation stage either Entra side or Duo. Do you conditional access? Have you checked the sign in logs?
shayshayshay 0 Reputation points

2026-08-28T17:40:25.9666667+00:00

Not sure what you mean by conditional access - sorry! But I am firm that I (and everybody in my team) have the right credentials for DUO as we can log onto other apps/websites with our accounts. I have checked the sign in logs, it did not reflect any of the attempts I made. What would that mean? Does that mean DUO failed to communicate with Microsoft?

1 answer

Your answer

Rahul Jindal 11,721 Reputation points

2026-08-28T06:15:48+00:00

Sounds like the process may be halting or failing at the validation stage either Entra side or Duo. Do you conditional access? Have you checked the sign in logs?
shayshayshay 0 Reputation points

2026-08-28T17:40:25.9666667+00:00

Not sure what you mean by conditional access - sorry! But I am firm that I (and everybody in my team) have the right credentials for DUO as we can log onto other apps/websites with our accounts. I have checked the sign in logs, it did not reflect any of the attempts I made. What would that mean? Does that mean DUO failed to communicate with Microsoft?

Answer 1

The symptoms match a cached Office identity or shared-credential problem on iPad/iOS, and there is also a known issue pattern where Microsoft 365 iOS apps can get stuck in repeated sign-in states across multiple apps.

Since web sign-in works and the same account works on another device, the account itself is likely not the problem. The most relevant next steps are:

Update all Microsoft 365 apps on each affected iPad Make sure OneNote, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are all updated to the latest App Store version. Office apps share credentials on iOS, so an issue in one app can affect sign-in in the others.
Clear the shared Office credentials from the iPad On each affected iPad:
- Open Settings
- Select OneNote
- Tap Reset OneNote
- Turn on Delete Sign-In Credentials
- Make sure OneNote is fully closed
- Reopen OneNote and sign in again
Because Office apps share credentials, the same sign-in may need to be refreshed in the other Office apps too.
If Word, Excel, or PowerPoint are installed, reset one of those apps too On iPad:
- Go to Settings
- Select Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
- Under RESET, tap Reset <app name>
- Enable Delete Login Credentials
- Close the app completely
- Reopen it and sign in again
Test sign-in in another Microsoft 365 app first Since the Office identity is shared, signing in successfully to Word or Excel first can refresh the shared authentication state before returning to OneNote.
If these iPads are managed with Intune app protection policies, install the latest app updates and retest Microsoft documented a known issue on iOS/iPadOS managed with Intune MAM where apps could incorrectly detect a signed-out state, remove the account, and repeatedly prompt for sign-in. The fix is included in the latest Microsoft 365 app updates. After updating, sign out and sign back in, then restart the app or device and test again.
If the sign-in page keeps looping after authentication, involve the administrator to check federation configuration For iOS and Mac Office apps, a sign-in page that continually reappears after entering credentials can be an AD FS issue that requires admin action.

What the current behavior suggests:

Works in browser but not in app points to an app-side identity/cache problem rather than an account problem.
Past accounts still appear after reset is consistent with shared Office credentials not being fully cleared yet.
Same issue on multiple department iPads raises the possibility of a device-management or shared-app-state issue, especially if Intune app protection is in use even if the department believes the devices are not specially configured.

If the devices are Intune-managed and still freeze after all apps are updated and credentials are reset, the next useful step is to collect diagnostic information after reproducing the issue: capture a Send-a-Frown submission and note the Session ID, app version, device details, and screenshots for investigation.